Ask HN: Anyone ever deliberately left out code to thwart scrapers?

3 points by truelinux1 67 days ago | 1 comment

A function called out in your code, but never defined. A dependency not included. A comment that says "email me for the missing piece" in the readme? Bots scrape GitHub 24/7, vacuuming up people's work with no acknowledgment - not like it used to be where people would interact - there was a human element.

So wondering, has anyone done this? Is it a coherent stance or just a pointless gesture?

bediger4000 67 days ago |

In my view, every little bit helps. I believe every anti-scraper effort should also be personal, home grown. That will create a vibrant, biodiverse anti-scraper ecosystem. An ecosystem is harder to circumvent than a monoculture, so get to it!